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Steinberg’s Cubase sequencer was my first proper introduction to the world of music technology. I say ‘proper’, as I had been sequencing via hardware for a few years at that point, but that was all steps, numbers and symbols on screen – hardly the visual ‘song on a screen’ Cubase portrayed, even back at v1 on an Atari. For the first time, you could see the tracks, the notes, the piano-roll editing in a style, it has to be said, that remains to this day on so many modern DAWs (we don’t, of course, call them sequencers any more).

Cubase v1 arguably laid down the design template for music production for years to come – tracks top to bottom, song left to right – and did it all in glorious greyscale. It was MIDI only back then, but it had note editing, drag-and-drop, copy and paste, duplicating, looping, transport controls, all the basics you Tracktion, Mixcraft, Logic (and far more) owners take for granted now, but this was happening three decades ago, no less.

Since then, Steinberg has hardly rested on its laurels. Audio recording was introduced and then Steinberg invented the virtual instrument – okay, it did exist before, but you can easily argue that the Hamburg-based company brought it to the masses with the Virtual Studio Technology (VST) standard. So we pretty much have Steinberg to thank for the shape of the DAW that we use today, and for the instruments within it.

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Find the complete article and many more in this issue of
MusicTech
-
Apr-18

About MusicTech

Emulating the artists that inspired us in our many music-making ventures is as much about rekindling those feelings as it is knowing how the sounds were created. In our cover feature this month we show you how to get impossibly close to the sonic signatures left by your musical heroes. Continuing the theme we present our newest feature ‘Recording Spotlight,’ where we speak to Peter Franco, engineer on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, and gain insight into the complex, painstaking work that went into creating this modern classic. Additionally, we sit down with dance-music producer Stefano Ritteri and rising UK production star Rhiannon Mair, get into the meat of Cubase 9.5 and get hands-on with all the latest gear, tech and software.
We hope you enjoy the issue…